The Methos and Sekhmet Chronicles: Dinner & Death
by VoiceOfTime
Summary: Fifth in a series.  Dinner in Egypt goes awry.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I promise to be good forever, can I have Methos for Christmas? I'll give him back, just let me keep him for like a week. ;)

Ch. 1:

Sekhmet put the key and the door and turned it. Or she tried. She pushed and jiggled, but the lock refused to move.

"Are you planning on opening the door, or should I just plan on sleeping out here?" Methos asked dryly.

"Oh, shut up." She said crossly. "I've just had a 15 hour flight, I'm tired, I want to change, and now the freaking door won't open because the lock hasn't been opened in like 50 years!"

She kicked the door and then hobbled away and sat down on the steps. Methos shook his head and walked up to the door. He reached out and the key turned smoothly in his hand.

Sekhmet glared at him.

"I loosened it." She told him.

"I'm sure." He agreed, holding his hand out to her.

She grabbed it and let him lever her to her feet. She opened the door and led him into her Egyptian home.

They entered a large room with a soaring ceiling and a door between two staircases. Sekhmet walked through the door and into another large room that had a balcony running around it, with doors lining the upstairs. The room was filled with covered furniture and each wall had a door on it. Behind them, there were two more staircases leading upstairs.

"That's the kitchen." She told him, pointing to the door right in front of them. "That's the dining room." She pointed to the left. "And that's the door that leads down the shore. There is a hallway with two bathrooms and then the door at the end leads to the outside. Upstairs, there's three bedrooms, not including the master suite, two bathrooms, an office, and a den."

"When did you start building this?" he asked.

"Well, I built a house here after Cleopatra lost Egypt to Rome." She replied. "Then it was burned to the ground. Then I built another and it was destroyed in a flood. There have been six houses here. This one was built in the late 1700's. Of course, I've had it renovated over the years to keep up with the times. It has modern plumbing, and electricity, even cable and a/c."

"So, how long do we have until the others get here?" Methos asked, walking over and wrapping his arms around her.

"We have two days." She replied, smiling.

"Good." He said, leaning down to kiss her.

She laughed and pulled away.

"Sorry, lover boy, but we've got to get this place cleaned up and ready." She told him. "And I hired some staff, so we need to meet them and get this place suitable for habitation."

"Spoilsport." He complained.

She smiled and walked over to a covered item. She pulled off the sheet and Methos saw that it was a piano. She gently opened the lid and touched the keys softly.

"Bach himself played this piano." She told him. "After I left Germany, I had it shipped here."

She played a few notes and winced.

"Okay, tuning the piano goes on the top of the list." She said, shutting the lid again. "That is not pretty."

Methos laughed and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Come on." She said, taking his hand. "I'll show you the rest and, if you're very good, I'll show you the bedroom."

He grinned and swept her up in his arms, carrying her quickly up the stairs as she laughed.

* * *

Methos watched Sekhmet where she was standing at the window from where he lay on the bed. The sun was setting and she was leaning against the window frame, dressed only in his shirt, with her arms wrapped around herself as she stared out at the Nile.

"You look beautiful." He told her.

She turned and smiled at him brightly before coming back and crawling into the bed next to him.

"We didn't get anything done today." She complained, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I thought we got plenty done today." He protested, tickling her lightly.

She laughed and swatted his hand away.

"You know what I mean." She said. "I had plans about how we were going to clean and get everything ready for the other's arrival."

"We can do that tomorrow." He told her. "Tonight, after 5,000 years, we're home and we're together. Something I didn't think was even possible has occurred. Can't we just enjoy that? And speaking of enjoying, this room seems vaguely familiar."

He looked around the room, which had a distinctly ancient look to it, from the furniture to the detailed paintings on the walls.

"Yeah." Sekhmet agreed, also looking around the world. "After I built this, I had everything made to match the room Pharaoh had given us. It made me feel better that I could have this one small thing of you. This room was everything we had had before us and everything we lost. But by saving the room, I could save a piece of you." She looked up at him and gently kissed his neck. "I never thought I'd see you in this bed again."

Methos leaned down and kissed her deeply.

"I love you." He told her. "And we're home. This is perfection."

He kissed her again and wrapped her in his arms, but they both stiffened when they felt the approach of another Immortal. Sekhmet quickly reached over and grabbed a dagger from the side table before getting up and walking to the window.

"I don't see anything." She told him, glancing back to him.

"Could they be in the house?" he asked softly.

"This place has a state of the art security system." She told him. "If he was inside, we'd know. I designed it myself with Amanda in mind."

"Good idea." He agreed.

They waited a few minutes longer before moving.

"Maybe it was just another Immortal checking out what was going on here." Sekhmet suggested.

"Why would they?" Methos asked.

"Remember the thing Joe told us about, Sekhmet's line?" she asked.

"Yeah." He replied.

"Well, I've kind of always put it out there, that if you could kill a member of the line, you got to keep the house." She told him. "Like a spoil of war. I'm sure there are other people out there who know this house is owned by an Immortal."

"You and your covers." Methos said, shaking his head.

"What?" she demanded. "I wasn't about to give up my house just because I had fake my death."

"If there's an Immortal sniffing around for your head, maybe we should just move this whole shindig back to Seacouver." Methos suggested.

"No." Sekhmet protested. "We are having dinner, with our friends, who are already on their way, and we are going to have a normal evening, just to prove that we can. And if this Immortal, whoever he or she is, tries to mess with that, I will take their head. That goes for you too. I'm not letting anything mess this up."

She sat down with a huff and Methos moved to sit behind her.

"Okay." He said, chuckling slightly as he wrapped his arms around her. "We make sure that your 'normal dinner' goes off without a hitch. Now…" He kissed the side of her neck. "It's been 5,000 years since we were in Egypt together. Let's ignore rogue Immortals, and coming friends. I say we make up for lost time tonight, and worry about the rest of it in the morning."

She smiled and kissed him before pushing him back onto the bed.

* * *

Methos started and almost fell out of bed. He looked around, trying to figure out what had awoken him, when he realized a: he was alone in the room, Sekhmet was nowhere to be seen, and b: somebody was playing a god awful high note on a piano, over and over again, adjusting the pitch every so often.

He grabbed a pair of pants and stumbled out of the room. He walked to the balcony railing and looked over to see a man sitting at the piano with a tuner and a wrench, twisting the string periodically. He stumbled to the stairs and down them, before making his way past the man and into the kitchen. There he found two women he didn't know, cleaning.

"Good morning, sir." One of the women said. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Um, no." he said, still confused as to what was going on. "Uh, can you tell me where Eve is?"

"Miss Myles is on the deck." The other woman said, pointing to the door leading to the outside.

"Um…thanks." Methos said, walking outside.

There, he found Sekhmet curled up in a chair, watching the river.

"Good morning." She said, smiling brightly as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Mind telling me what's going on?" he demanded.

"Well, since we got…distracted yesterday, I was forced to get a jumpstart on today." She told him. "Oh, sorry, did the piano tuning wake you up?"

"Did the…?" he sputtered. "Sekhmet, the guy is playing a badly tuned high A over and over again! You couldn't have given me a little warning? And then I come downstairs and find two strange women in the kitchen! Next I'll find a pool boy running around!"

"Don't be silly." Sekhmet told him. "There's no pool. But I should warn you that there's a chef on his way and an electrician coming later."

Methos sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Sekhmet smiled sheepishly and got to her feet.

"I'm sorry for not warning you about the people." She told him, resting her hands on his chest and tilting her head to the side. "Do you forgive me?"

She pouted softly and he glared at her.

"That is not going to work." He told her strictly.

"Really?" she asked, her voice full of surprise. She reached up and kissed his cheek softly. "Cause I think it might."

He growled at her and grabbed her around the waist. Suddenly, they both felt another and turned to locate the Immortal.

"Our friend from last night?" Methos asked quietly, his eyes searching.

"How am I supposed to know?" Sekhmet asked crossly. "All I know is they keep interrupting. It's getting kind of annoying."

After a few more minutes of futile searching, Methos took Sekhmet's hand.

"Come on." He said, pulling her inside.

She let him lead her away from the threat without protest.

A/N: Let me know what you think! I crave attention! What can I say, I'd do next to anything for a review.

Abbey


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I'm holding Methos hostage. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Ch. 2:

"What did you guys get a group rate or something?" Sekhmet asked as she opened the door.

Outside on the doorstep stood Duncan, Amanda, Aurore, and Joe.

"I know for a fact you all came on different flights." She continued. "What, did you wait so you could all take a cab together?"

"Oh shut up and let us in." Amanda said crossly.

Sekhmet laughed and stepped back to let them in. After they were in, she gave one last glance outside before closing the door.

"Welcome to Egypt." She said, hugging each of them. "I hope the trip wasn't too bad."

"There was a screaming baby on mine." Amanda told her, glaring.

"I'm sorry." Sekhmet said, not really looking it. "Come on, and I'll show you to your rooms so you can rest from your strenuous trips."

"You know, the words are there, but the meaning doesn't really seem genuine." Aurore told her.

"What was wrong with your trip?" Sekhmet asked.

"Amanda was on it." Aurore replied, smirking at the cat burglar.

The others laughed as Amanda glared at her.

"Come on." Sekhmet said.

She led them to the stairs and up through the door.

"Amanda and Aurore were going to be sharing a room," Sekhmet said as she lead them out onto the second floor balcony, "but I'm starting to regret that decision. I can set one of you up in the den, if you want."

"Why don't you put me in the den, and one of them can have my room." Duncan told her.

"You're sure?" she asked.

"It's fine." He assured her.

"Thanks." She said, smiling.

"Or, Duncan can just stay with me." Amanda said, wrapping her arm around his.

"Or we could do that." Duncan said, smirking.

"How 'bout I just leave the room assignments to you guys?" Sekhmet said, mock glaring at them. "Never mind my hard work in planning them out."

"Yeah, that's sounds like a good idea to me." Amanda said, smiling at her.

She glared and stuck her tongue out at her friend. Joe, meanwhile, had stopped and was looking up at the painted ceiling above them.

"That's beautiful." He told Sekhmet, pointing to it.

"Thank you." She replied, smiling up at it.

"The whole house is beautiful." Amanda agreed.

"It was kind of a mess when we got here." Sekhmet told them. "But, between me, Methos, and some hired help, we got into order."

"Speaking of your fiancée, where is he?" Duncan asked.

As he asked, the four Immortals felt the approach of an Immortal, and Methos walked into the room from the hall that led to the deck.

"There you are." Sekhmet called.

The others could hear a poorly disguised note of relief in her voice, but let it go.

"Hey guys." Methos said, smiling up at them. "Welcome to Egypt."

"Nice of you to show up, Methos." Duncan told him sarcastically. "Your hosting skills seem to be lacking."

"And this surprises you?" Methos asked, bounding up the stairs to join them.

As he reached them, he wrapped an arm around Sekhmet's waist and kissed her temple.

"Everything all right?" she asked him in Egyptian.

"They disappeared again." He replied in the same language.

"You stayed on the grounds, right?" she asked, worry in her voice.

"Of course." He said, squeezing her waist.

She sighed and leaned into him.

"Aurore, you're the only one who hasn't met my fiancée." She said, switching back to English. "Aurore, this is Methos. Methos, Aurore."

"Nice to meet you." Methos said, shaking the slightly stunned looking woman's hand.

"I'm sorry." She said after a second of silence. "It's just…this is rather like meeting Santa Clause."

Sekhmet laughed and bumped her shoulder into her lover's chest.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Santa?"

"I think I'm starting to miss Richie's expectations of a wise man." Methos replied wryily.

The other's laughed.

"Okay, well, this room here is Amanda and Duncan's apparently." Sekhmet said, pointing to the room in front of them. "Next is Joe's, followed by Aurore's. There are still some mortals working in the house, so try to remember to refer to us as Adam and Eve, but you guys have the run of the house."

"Dinner's at 7." Methos told them. "And before any of you start to worry, we hired someone to make dinner tonight, so the threat of food poisoning should be significantly lower than if Sekhmet were cooking."

Sekhmet elbowed him in the stomach.

"Will you get off my cooking?" she demanded. "It's not that bad."

"You burn toast every time you try to make it." He replied. "That's pretty bad."

"Okay, everyone go to their rooms." Sekhmet told them. "I don't want any witnesses."

"Ah, we're on Holy Ground." Methos replied, backing away.

"I can still kill you." She said. "I just can't fight you or take your head, so why don't you just stand there and let me push you over the rail."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Methos told her. "Come on, we still have to finish some things."

He took her hand and began to pull her away.

"Get settled and come down." Sekhmet said, letting him pull her away.

The others glanced at each other and shrugged before heading into their rooms.

* * *

"Did you find anything out?" Sekhmet asked in Egyptian as they walked into the kitchen.

Methos glanced at the two women and the chef working in the room, but none of them even spared a glance their way.

"They disappeared before I could find them again." He said, sighing.

"I can't take this, Methos." Sekhmet said, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. "I hate just waiting for something to happen."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

"I won't let anything happen to you." He told her.

"Just don't let anything happen to you." She replied.

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm going to check the house again." He said.

"Should we warn the others?" she asked as he pulled away.

"Not yet." He replied. "Maybe whoever it is will get spooked by so many Immortals."

He smiled and squeezed her hand before walking outside. She watched him go and sighed before turning back to the things she needed to do.

* * *

The friends all sat around the table, laughing, as they finished dinner.

"And then, moron over here, decides that this will be a good time to jump into traffic." Sekhmet said, pointing at her fiancée, who was glaring at her mockingly.

The others burst out laughing again.

"What happened?" Aurore asked.

"What do you think happened?" Sekhmet replied. "He got hit. I had to drag him out of the way and wait for him to come back. Sufficed to say, we're not going back to Aruba any time soon."

"Oh, come off it." Methos scoffed. "It wasn't that bad."

"Not that bad?" Sekhmet exclaimed. "You weren't the one questioned for the whole night about where your body had mysteriously disappeared to!"

The others laughed, but the five Immortals stiffened when they felt another Immortal come near.

"Are we expecting company?" Duncan asked as Methos and Sekhmet exchanged a look.

There was a sound of glass breaking and Sekhmet took a raged breath.

"I don't feel so good." She said, standing up.

"Sekhmet!" Methos yelled, leaping out of his seat.

She looked at him, confused, before looking down. She touched her abdomen and pulled her hand away to see blood before collapsing. Methos made it over just in time to catch her and lower her to the ground.

"What the hell?" Amanda demanded, standing up.

A second later, a bullet hit her in the chest followed by one hitting Aurore. Duncan grabbed Amanda and lowered her as Joe moved to Aurore. The window smashed and a rock fell at Methos' feet.

He reached down and detached the note on the rock.

"Let the Heir of Sekhmet come out and fight." He read grimly.

The men exchanged a looked before looking at the women laying on the ground.

A/N: I know it's short. Forgive me. Did anyone see the Ocean's Eleven joke?

Abbey


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I love Methos, isn't that enough?

Ch. 3:

The others watched as Methos took a pair of handcuffs and attached Sekhmet to the metal railing of the stairs.

"I hope that'll hold her." He said, backing up. "She's strong, but that's iron. I don't think she'll be able to break through."

"Why is she taking longer than us?" Aurore asked. "We were shot after her."

"Sekhmet always takes a long time to come back." Methos replied. "She doesn't know why."

"Why are we locking her up?" Joe asked.

"It's a precaution." Methos said. "Last time I was around when she was killed, she came back…well, barely in control. Granted, she had just killed Armand, but I don't want to take a chance of her hurting anyone. She'd never forgive herself."

"So, what haven't you guys been telling us?" Amanda asked.

"Since we got here, there's been an Immortal stalking around the compound." Methos told them. "They were always careful to stay out of sight and we stayed inside."

"And you didn't think to mention this?" Duncan demanded.

"We had it handled." Methos said, angrily. "How could we know that someone would be looking for the stupid heir of Sekhmet's line."

They were distracted from their argument by Sekhmet coming back, gasping, to life. She immediately began pulling at her binds.

"Sekhmet?" Methos called softly, kneeling a safe distance away.

Sekhmet ignored him, continuing to pull at the handcuffs.

"Sekhmet?" Methos called again, slowly moving forward.

He gently reached out and touched her shoulder. She responded by kicking out and he barely avoided having his stomach thrown through his spine. Methos heard Aurore gasp as they saw Sekhmet's eyes. They were wild and clearly out of control. She yelled a long string of words in Egyptian at Methos

"Great." Methos muttered, leaning back on his heels. "Well, good to see she retained the ability to curse me out."

"She died when I rescued her from Armand." Duncan said softly as Sekhmet continued to fight. "She didn't react like this."

"We think it's me." Methos said, sighing.

"What do you mean?" Joe asked.

"The only explanation we've been able to come up with is that when I'm with her and she's dies, her mind connects it with the first time she died." The older man replied. "Then her mind connects it with the madness and she wakes up the way she did the first time, insane and completely out of control. Last time, I tied her up and helped her to hold on long enough to go to sleep. When she woke up again, she was in control again."

He gently moved towards Sekhmet again.

"Sekhmet, it's Methos." He said softly. "Come on, I know you're in there. You need to get a hold of yourself. You're scaring the others. Just listen to my voice. You're safe, I'm safe, everyone is safe. Just relax."

They watched as Sekhmet's eyes met Methos' and held them. Slowly, the crazed look receded from them and she closed them, taking a deep breath.

"I see you remembered what I said about learning to tie better knots." She said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, I decided this was easier." He replied, his voice light. "You approve? Cause I could keep them handy."

That startled a laugh out of her.

"So not the time or place." She told him, smiling weakly.

The smile fell and she took another deep breath, opening her eyes.

"How long was I gone?" she asked, not looking anywhere but her fiancée.

"20 minutes." He replied. "You were the first down and the last up."

"First?" she asked.

"Whoever this is shot Amanda and Aurore, too." He told her.

"But not you, Duncan, or Joe?" she asked, strength coming back to her voice.

Methos shook his head and she sighed.

"They're after the latest in the Sekhmet line." She said.

"Looks that way, if their note can be believed." Methos told her.

She nodded.

"Did I hurt anyone?" Sekhmet asked.

"No." Methos replied, shaking his head. "I locked you up before you woke up."

She nodded again and sighed.

"Unlock me." She told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

She hesitated but nodded.

He reached over and unlocked the handcuffs and removed them. The moment they were off, Sekhmet reached up and wound her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

"You're okay." He told her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her just as tightly. "I won't let anything happen to you."

She nodded and just held him tighter.

* * *

Methos handed Sekhmet a cup of tea as she sat on the couch and the others stood and sat around the living room.

"You stayed away from the windows?" she asked him.

"Yes." He said patiently, sitting down next to her.

"So what are we going to do?" Amanda asked. "It's not like we can spend the rest of eternity locked up in this house, hoping they'll go away."

"Well we could." Methos said. "Joe, not so much."

Sekhmet reached up and smacked him across the head.

"What the hell was that for?" he exclaimed.

"Shut up." She ordered.

He glared at her and rubbed his head, but did as she said.

"I'll go fight whoever it is." Sekhmet said. "They want the heir of Sekhmet, they'll get her."

"No way." Methos replied immediately. "I'll do it."

"And what happens if you get your head taken?" Amanda asked. "'Cause I don't see Sekhmet's sanity coming through that intact. Besides, the crazy person outside asked for the heir of Sekhmet. Now, it safe to assume they're a woman, and that they don't know who it is exactly, or they wouldn't have shot all three of us. Which means they're only going to fight one of us."

"Are you suggesting you do it?" Duncan asked.

"If it comes to it, I will, but I think Sekhmet has the best chance of getting out of this alive." Amanda said.

"You've got to be kidding me." Methos said.

"As much as I agree with you," Sekhmet told her, "the last time I took a head, I tried to go on a murdering rampage. Quickenings don't tend to go well for me."

"You took plenty of heads before Armand and you didn't slaughter anyone." Duncan pointed out. "Couldn't your reaction to him have more to do with what he did to you, and less to do with the actual battle? I mean, he kept you captive for a long period of time and then hunted you down, forcing you to take his head. That would try on anyone's sanity."

"Plus, I know you and Methos downplay how good of sword masters you are, but you'd have to be pretty good to get to be 5,000 years old." Amanda said.

"What are you talking about?" Duncan scoffed. "I beat Methos the first time I met him."

He glanced at Methos who quickly looked away.

"You let me win?" he demanded.

"At the time, I thought it was the thing to do." Methos said, shrugging.

Duncan stared at him for a second before sitting down heavily. Sekhmet reached over and patted his knee before returning back to the conversation.

"Chances are this is some newbie who's heard the legends and wants to try their hand at being the latest heir." Amanda said. "This must have happened before."

"A few times over the centuries." Sekhmet admitted.

"Well, what did you do then?" Aurore asked.

"I tried to discourage them." Sekhmet replied. "And if that didn't work, I'd fight them as a last resort."

"So do that now." Aurore said.

"Problem." Joe said. "What if they don't believe Sekhmet when she says she's the heir? I mean, the fact that they shot her first may have been a message to Aurore, since they shot her last."

"It's a possibility." Sekhmet agreed. "But Amanda's right, usually the ones coming for me are young who have heard the rumors. They don't usually know what I look like, mainly because I try very hard to keep what I look like secret."

"5,000 years also produces a lot of paranoia." Methos said.

"You would know." Duncan muttered. "You're the most paranoid person I know."

Methos sneered at him.

"So, how do you think this is going to work?" Sekhmet said, sighing.

"Wait, what?" Methos demanded. "You're not going to fight this person?"

"What choice do I have?" Sekhmet demanded, switching to Egyptian. "Let our friends fight my battles for me?"

"Don't fight at all." He replied in the same language. "Wait for them to get bored and leave."

"How do we know they will?" she shot back, standing up and stalking away. "How do we know they won't just sit out there for the next century? I am not going to cower away waiting for them to leave!"

"And I don't want to lose you!" he yelled at her.

She sat down and cupped his cheek with her hand.

"This is the only way this ends." She told him softly.

"You can't leave me." He told her, taking her hand and holding it tightly. "I won't survive losing you again."

She leaned forward and kissed him softly.

"Then I'll just have to win." She said simply, smiling slightly.

He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder as she held him. She looked at each of their friends before closing her eyes and resting her cheek against Methos' head.

* * *

Sekhmet stood in front of her mirror, strapping her sword to her hip. She had changed out of her skirt and peasant blouse and into a simple pair of jeans and a black tank top. Methos opened the door and shut it quietly as she pulled her long hair into a pony tail. She started to braid it, but he stepped up and stilled her hands.

"Let me." He said.

She closed her eyes as his hands moved through her hair, braiding it tightly.

"I wish you weren't doing this." He said softly. "Or I wish you'd let me do it."

"What do you think, should the bridesmaids' dresses be that teal color I was looking at, or maybe a nice pinkish color?" Sekhmet asked, ignoring his question.

"Sekhmet." He sighed.

"Please." She whispered. "I need you to just humor me."

Methos sighed and tied off her braid.

"I think you should pick the teal." He told her. "Amanda will look better in it. Aurore would look good in anything."

"That's what I thought." Sekhmet agreed.

She reached over and grabbed her daggers, slipping them into her boots. As she straightened, she reached up and removed her ankh pendent before turning around and pressing it into Methos' hand.

"Last time, I gave you this, and I won." She said. "At least this time, we won't have to wait a century for you to return it."

Methos nodded and held it tightly before kissing her. She wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss. Finally she pulled away and took a deep breath, walking out of the room, leaving him alone.

A/N: Let me know what you guys think. Also, for those of you who might be reading my DW story, at the end of the 5 series, there's a comment about an Egyptian Goddess loose on the Orient Express in Space. What would you guys think about using that idea as a cross over with this series? Let me know in a review.

Abbey


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I saved Methos from the nasty Immortals. Just ignore the muffled screaming.

Ch. 3:

Sekhmet stood on the boundaries of her home as her friends stood behind her.

"Where do you think they are?" Aurore asked.

"I don't know, but we've been standing out her for an hour." Methos replied crossly. "You'd think they'd be more anxious to get this over with."

"Maybe they're intimidated by the number of Immortals here." Amanda suggested.

"They weren't intimidated when they were gunning you down." Duncan pointed out. "If we're going with the assumption that they're a young Immortal, they risked pissing off a lot of older Immortals with that stunt and it didn't seem to faze them."

"Good point." She admitted.

"Were you able to find anything out from the Watchers?" Methos asked Joe.

The old Watcher shook his head.

"No one knows of any Immortals nearby except for you five, and they don't even realize you're an Immortal, so they really only know that Duncan, Amanda, Aurore, and Sekhmet, who they think is Eve, are here." he told them.

"You people fill me with confidence." Sekhmet said dryly.

"I'm so sorry that we can't make your life easier." Joe replied, just as dryly. "You know, because that's our goal in life."

Sekhmet laughed, but the Immortals suddenly stiffened as another Immortal approached.

A young woman, obviously of Middle Eastern descent, walked up from the shore towards them.

"You the one who shot my friends and, even more importantly, broke my window?" Sekhmet called.

"Good to know where we rank, huh?" Aurore muttered to Amanda, who nodded.

"Are you the heir of Sekhmet?" the woman asked in heavily accented English.

"There's no such thing." Sekhmet told her.

"I beg to differ." The woman said. "My research says that you are the latest in a line of women stretching back 5,000 years to the goddess herself."

"Sekhmet was no goddess." Sekhmet ground out. "She was a murderer."

"And yet you live in her temple." The woman pointed out. "Strange for a woman who says she has no connection to the goddess."

"Where I live is no concern of yours." Sekhmet told her. "Please, I'm giving you a chance. Turn around and walk away, and we'll forget this ever happened."

"I came for your head." The woman told her. "And when I take it, the power of the goddess will be mine."

"You're delusional." Sekhmet said. "There is no power!"

"Then why did you take the woman who came before you's head?" the woman asked.

"It was a matter of survival." Sekhmet replied. "And I've tried my best to stay out of the game, so please just leave us in peace."

"I am Zahra Maloof." The woman said, raising her sword. "Will you fight, Eve Myles, or will you hide in the sanctuary of Holy Ground for the rest of time?"

Sekhmet was silent, studying the woman and Methos stepped up behind her, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"How old are you?" Sekhmet called.

"I have seen 65 years." Zahra replied.

Sekhmet sighed sadly.

"Such a waste." She said softly.

Methos squeezed her shoulder and she nodded. She drew her sword and stepped over the boundary.

The moment she was unprotected, Zahra attacked. Sekhmet quickly blocked the blow and spun out of the way, leading the other woman away from the house. Zahra lunged again, and Sekhmet blocked again. And again. And again.

"Attack, damn you!" Zahra yelled at her.

"I told you." Sekhmet replied, avoiding another blow. "I have no desire to take your head. All I want to do is live in peace."

"Only cowards and weaklings avoid the game." Zahra sneered at her. "You aren't worthy of being the goddess's heir. She was a great warrior. You are a disgrace."

Sekhmet clenched her teeth and suddenly went on the attack. She started off slow and quickly sped up until it looked like she was dancing. Each swing controlled and precise. Zahra struggled to continue to block, until, finally, Sekhmet moved to fast and she landed a blow on each of the woman's arms and legs. Finally, she jumped in the air, spinning to kick Zahra to the ground.

As Zahra lay on the ground, panting and bleeding, Sekhmet walked up and laid her sword on the woman's neck.

"I don't fight unless I have to." She told the young woman sadly. "That doesn't mean I can't."

She pulled her sword away and stepped back.

"Leave this place in peace." Sekhmet ordered.

She turned to walk back to her friends and her love.

"No." she heard Zahra growl.

She turned and saw Zahra's blade flying at her throat and quickly blocked it. Without thinking, she swung and hit Zahra's neck, decapitating her in one blow.

As the woman's body fell to the ground, the air grew heavy. Sekhmet looked down at her hands and saw the electricity gathering there. When the bolts began to hit, she cried.

Methos and the others watched as bolt after bolt hit Sekhmet and the area around her. The strikes formed a ring around her, turning the sand to glass. There was a sound, like a lion's roar and Aurore shivered.

Finally it was over and Sekhmet looked down at the woman's body again.

"Such a waste." She repeated.

She walked down to the river and kneeled on its bank, washing her sword in the water. Methos came over and as he kneeled next to her, her hands stilled. He just sat there quietly until she finally sighed.

"So much blood." She said softly. "Our lives, our hands, our souls. They're soaked in blood. How can this be right? How can taking the life of a young, misguided woman be the right thing to do?"

"It may not be right." Methos agreed. "But it's what there is. It's kill or be killed. There is nothing else."

"Well, it sucks." She said, angrily standing and shoving her sword back in its scabbard.

Methos sighed and stood up as well.

"Yes it does." He agreed. "Come on, our friends are waiting.

Sekhmet nodded and let him lead her back to the house. When they made it back, Methos let her go so Amanda and Aurore could embrace her and lead her into house.

"We need to take care of the body." Methos said as the women left. "This place is remote, but I don't want to leave the body just sitting out. Not this close to the house."

"I'll help you." Duncan said.

"Thanks." Methos said.

He watched as he fiancée entered the house and sighed.

"Time may not touch us." He said. "But it sure as hell can still destroy us."

Duncan reached over and clasped him on the shoulder before leading him back to where Zahra's body lay. Joe watched them go in silence.

"Time can be a bitch." He agreed silently.

A/N: Let me know what you thought.

Abbey


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I claim PW for my own. And while I'm claiming things, I claim David Tennant, Jensen Ackles, Matt Smith, and all of England.

Ch. 5:

Methos came back down the stairs to find his friends waiting.

"How is she?" Amanda asked.

"She's sleeping, but there doesn't seem to be any sign of the bloodlust coming out." Methos replied, sitting down. "She seems fine."

There was a sigh of relief that went through the room.

"Well, this was a fun day." Duncan said sarcastically. "I think I'll go sleep for a century."

The others chuckled.

"I'm sorry for all this." Methos told them.

"Don't sweat it, old man." Joe told him. "What's dinner with friends without a little fight to the death? Explain to me why I hang out with you people again."

"Because we're just so damn much fun." Amanda replied, wrapping her arm around the Watcher's shoulders.

"Oh yeah, that's it." Joe agreed sarcastically.

"You know, you never did tell us why you two brought us here." Aurore pointed out.

"Well, Sekhmet wanted you two here so she could talk to you about the bridesmaids' dresses." Methos replied. "I assume she'll do that tomorrow. Joe and Mac are here because I wanted to ask Mac to be my best man and Joe to be a groomsman. Sekhmet fought me on the last one because she wanted to ask Joe to walk her down the aisle, but I won that argument. I think it's the first one I've won in weeks."

"How'd you manage that?" Duncan asked.

"Honestly?" Methos replied. "I think she realized that if I didn't have both of you, the wedding party would be uneven and she wasn't willing to give up one of her bridesmaids. So will you guys do it?"

"Of course." Duncan replied. "I'd be honored."

"Me too." Joe agreed.

"Great." Methos said. "Now, if no one minds, I'm going to sleep before someone else decides to take a shot at us. You guys are free to stay up. We'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Methos." Amanda said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

The others also said goodnight and he got up and made his way to his room.

"I think I'm going to turn in too." Amanda said. "What about you, Duncan?"

"Oh, I thought I'd stay up a little while longer." He said.

"Okay, I'll say that again." She said. "Duncan, I'm going to my room. What are you doing?"

"Oh, I guess I'm going to my room too." He said, catching on.

"Good boy." She said. "Good night all."

She reached over and took Duncan's hand, practically dragging him up the stairs.

"I think that's it for me." Joe said. "Good night, Aurore."

"Yes, me too." She said. "Good night, as well."

They both got up and made their way to their respective rooms.

* * *

Methos quietly walked into the room and quietly closed the door. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the bed. Sekhmet rolled over and curled into his side.

"Everyone going to sleep?" she asked softly.

"Yeah." He replied, wrapping his arms around her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied. "I'm sorry for the angst earlier. It's just…"

"Gets to you after awhile." Methos finished. "I know."

"It's nice to talk to someone who understands." She told him. "Even the oldest Immortals out there are usually not much older than Amanda. They don't get it. The weariness of it all."

"I know." He said. "But you're not alone any more. You don't have to suffer through it alone."

"I love you, Methos." She said, kissing him gently.

The kiss slowly deepened until they finally pulled apart, breathing heavily.

"We shouldn't." Sekhmet said softly. "Our friends…someone might hear."

There was a thumping sound and Sekhmet laughed.

"Sounds like MacLeod and Amanda had the same idea." Methos said, kissing Sekhmet's neck.

She laughed and pushed him off, grabbing her robe and heading for the door. He groaned and flopped back before getting up and following her.

Outside, Sekhmet was standing outside Amanda and Duncan's room.

"Really?" Aurore said, poking her head out. "They couldn't be quieter?"

"Apparently not." Joe said dryly, standing in his doorway.

Methos leaned against the doorway to their room and raised his eyebrow. Sekhmet grinned at him wickedly and took a step forward.

"Oi!" she said, banging on the door. "Do not make me get a bucket of water! Keep it down, the rest of us are trying to sleep!"

The door opened and a disheveled Amanda stood, glaring at Sekhmet as she wrapped a robe around herself.

"Hi there." Sekhmet said brightly.

"Do you mind?" Amanda growled.

"Not at all." Sekhmet replied. "Do you mind being slightly quieter?"

"We will do that." Duncan said, coming up behind Amanda. "Good night, Sekhmet."

"Good night, Duncan." Sekhmet said, smiling. "Amanda."

Amanda continued to glower at Sekhmet as Duncan closed the door.

"You are not nice." Methos said in Egyptian, coming up to wrap his arms around her waist.

"Can we go to sleep now?" Joe asked. "Without the sound effects?"

Sekhmet took Methos' hand and pulled him towards their room.

"Good night, Joe." Sekhmet said, kissing the Watcher's cheek as she passed.

"Good night, Sekhmet." He said, going back in his room and shutting his door.

"Good night, Sekhmet, Methos." Aurore called.

"Good night, sweetie." Sekhmet replied.

Aurore shut her door and Sekhmet pulled Methos inside their room. The rest of the night passed without incident.

* * *

Sekhmet knelt in the sand as the morning sun rose over the Nile. She gently reached out and touched the ring of glass the Quickening had created.

"Sekhmet?" a voice called.

The Ancient Egyptian turned to see Aurore making her way down the beach to her.

"Good morning, Aurore." Sekhmet replied, dusting off her pants as she stood up.

"Methos sent me to tell you breakfast is ready." Aurore said, joining her. "That's really amazing."

She leaned down to touch the glass ring.

"Do you think anyone will notice?" she asked.

"I was just trying to figure out how to remove it." Sekhmet said. "The only thing I can figure is to dig it up and drag it back to the house."

"Well, we can do that later." Aurore said, linking her arm with Sekhmet's and leading her back to the house. "Let's talk about dresses."

Sekhmet laughed.

"So have you decided on a color for the bridesmaids' dresses?" Aurore asked.

"Methos suggested the teal, but I was actually thinking we might go with the burgundy." Sekhmet said. "I think it would look good if we had the wedding at sunset."

Aurore nodded.

"I agree." She said. "I'm not sure I would've if I had never seen this place. It really is breath taking. Was it this beautiful when you and Methos were growing up here?"

They walked up the steps to the deck and Sekhmet turned to look out over the river.

"It was." She replied. "More so. I loved Egypt more than anything growing up. I gave her my life, my duty, my duty, and my devotion. I gave her everything."

"Do you regret it?" Aurore asked.

Sekhmet hesitated.

"Yes." She said softly. "I regret my love for my kingdom, my brother, turning me into murder. But I don't regret my love for her. And I will always love seeing her beauty. It's my home."

Sekhmet smiled and turned back to Aurore.

"Come on." She said. "Let's get some breakfast."

* * *

The friends sat at the table, eating and enjoying their time together.

A/N: Let me know what you think.

Abbey


End file.
